Drug racket: 10, including 3 Indians, arrested in Malaysia

Jaishree Balasubramanian

Kuala Lumpur, Aug 18 (PTI) Ten people, including three
Indians, were arrested by Malaysian police after it smashed
an international drug syndicate here which was allegedly lead
by an Indian.

City Deputy Police chief Abdul Samad Mat said they had
recovered drugs worth 1.5 million ringit (INR 1.95 crore)
after busting the syndicate on Saturday and arrested ten men,
aged between 30 and 40, including three Indians and two
Myanmar nationals.

"All suspects were remanded for a week. We also seized
a Nissan Sentra and 32,000 ringgit from the suspects," he said
Monday.

On Saturday, a police team raided a house and found
59.7 kg of ketamine, 400g of heroin, 79 Ecstasy pills, 150
Erimin 5 pills, 13g of ganja and 19g of syabu.

The syndicate is believed to have been operating for
more than a year, local media reports said today.

Samad said police began their probe last month when it
received a tip-off about an Indian national allegedly
masterminding the smuggling of ketamine into Malaysia.

"The Indian nationals were working with Malaysian
pushers who distributed the drugs to those in the
entertainment scene," he said. The syndicate also catered to
demand for ketamine from Thailand Indonesia, reports said.

The ketamine was processed in India and smuggled into
Malaysia through various means, the reports quoted police as
saying.

"One method was hiding the ketamine in small
quantities inside photograph frames or in pots and pans,"
Samad said.

The foreigners who were arrested had valid documents
and work permits. They apparently worked as store assistants
or waiters to cover up their criminal activities. PTI JB
DDC